Rishabhdeo Temple

One can easily reach Rishabhdeo Temple from the city by taking
Regular Buses or by hiring Taxis

Rishabhdeo Temple is an important pilgrimage site for
followers of Jain religion. The temple is located on Udaipur-Ahmedabad
road, at a distance of 65 kms from the city of Udaipur in Dhulev. Dhulev
is a small town that is also known as Rikhabdeo, famous for its
Rishabhdeo Temple. The temple traces its origin in the 15th century and
is dedicated to Lord Rishabh Dev. Rikhabdeo ji is supposed to be one
from the 'Trithankar' of Jain religion. The lord is also referred as
Keshariyaji, since pilgrims offer immense quantity of saffron to the
lord.

The Jainism sect is believed to be founded by Lord Mahavira. Rishabhdeo
is regarded as one of the descendants of Lord Mahavira. Rikhabdeo temple
is a centre of devotion not only for Jains, but for Meena tribals, Bhils
and Vaishnavites too. People of Jain and Bhil community, make it a
point, to visit this holy shrine of Lord Rishabhdeo, every time they
visit to Udaipur. The Bhils catch acquaintance with the image of
Rishabhdeo linking it with their dark complexion of skin.

Both Jains and Bhils have immense respect for this temple, since the
lord fulfills all their wishes and desires. Rishabhdeo Temple has been
one of the four main religious sites of Mewar that is ruled by the
Sisodia Maharanas of Udaipur. Sometimes, Rishabhdeoji is considered as
one of incarnations of Lord Vishnu and due to this reason; many of the
Hindus come to this place of worship every month from all over
Rajasthan.

While entering this temple, you will be received by the Elephants that
are carved out of black stone. In the north, the image Goddess
Chakreshvari adorns the site and in the south, the image of goddess
Padmavati fetches the attention. In this temple, the idol of Lord
Rishabh Dev captures the major attraction. This 3.5 feet tall idol is
carved out of a single piece of black stone. The lord is sitting in
'padmasana' posture and his long hair touches the shoulders. On the
platform where the idol is seated, two oxen are carved in the middle.
These oxen also represent the 16 dreams of Tirthankar's mother.

Besides the main idol, there are 23 other idols and out of them, 2 are
standing and 21 are in a sitting position. All these idols are made up
of Ashtadhatu (composed of eight metals) and encircle the idol of Lord
Rishabhdeo. The northern and southern parts of the Khela Mandapa (Hall)
are occupied by the idols of Tirthankaras Vasupujya, Mallinath,
Neminath, Parshvanath and Mahavir Swami that are collectively known as
Panch-Balayati. Apart from this, there are 52 other devakulikas
(shrines) of the Tirthankaras.

This temple has been accredited to witness the long history of Mewar.
It has about 65 inscriptions on its walls. The inscription that dates
back to 15th century states that the temple was constructed as per the
preaching of Bhattaraka Dharmakirti belonging to Kashtha Sangh. At the
same time, 'Garbhagriha' and 'Khel Mandapa' were constructed. In 1832,
the 'Nakkarkhana' (drum tower) was built. In the later years, the
smaller shrines (devakulika) were constructed. Tourists visit this holy
place to get blessings from the Lord Rishabhdeoji.